Reports: Games

Browse all of our reports, featuring our analysts' expert insights and analysis of audience segmentation, emerging trends and technologies, value chains, market shares, predictions and more – backed by our proprietary survey data and bespoke models & forecasts. Become a subscriber to get new ones every month, or just pick one to get started.

Is in-game advertising the next frontier for PC and console games?

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Rhys Elliott

July 2025

Apple

YouTube

Netflix

In-game advertising (IGA) in AAA console and PC titles is experiencing a resurgence. Advancements in technology, shifting consumer behaviours, evolving monetisation strategies, and a now-mature games market have reignited interest. With AAA publishers adopting free-to-play models and hybrid monetisation – mirroring mobile gaming’s success – a...

Flipping the script
Game IP transmedia needs to evolve

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Rhys Elliott

May 2025

Amazon

Netflix

Xbox

The entertainment landscape is changing. As superhero fatigue sets in, game IP is now dominating screens, from HBO’s The Last of Us to the Minecraft movie. Unlike movie trends (Westerns, superhero movies), the game-to-movie trend is here to stay, as the games market is a cross-genre treasure trove of beloved IP and fandom, with new IP arriving fr...

UK media consumption Q4 2024
A mature market with niche growth prospects

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Laura Fisher

April 2025

Streaming

Streaming Music

US

This report presents MIDiA consumer entertainment data across media, music, audio, and games. Key data and insights: Time spent and weekly active users (by format and platform)for streaming music, podcasts, social media, games consoles and more. All data refers to the UK only (n = 1,000) except for ‘all-country average’ referring to the weighte...

Pixels to playlists
Music preferences and behaviours of gamers

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Rhys Elliott

March 2025

Innovation

Labels

US

The global games industry is a $236.9 billion behemoth. It now rivals film, television, and music combined in terms of revenues and is a cultural driver. Yet, for music companies, labels, and platforms, gaming represents more than a parallel market: it is agateway to the world’s most engaged, tech-savvy, and monetisable audience.

MIDiA's gamer segmentation
Prioritise why – not just how – players engage with games

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Rhys Elliott

February 2025

Amazon

Netflix

Gaming

The games landscape is more dynamic and interconnected than ever, demanding a deeper understanding of why players engage with games – not just how. We are proud to introduce MIDiA’s gamer segmentation, which focuses on motivations, attitudes, and underlying reasons behind gaming behaviours.

MIDiA Research global games forecasts 2025–2031
The market is mature, so double-digit growth is a fantasy

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Perry Gresham, Mark Qi and Rhys Elliott

January 2025

US

Global

Gaming

Interested in ' MIDiA Research global games forecasts 2025–2031' ? Access the free version here . Recent years have been tough for the games market. Like many industries, gaming overextended itself following the black swan event that was the COVID-19 pandemic.

What gamers really think about gen AI in games
Apathy, not outrage

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Rhys Elliott

December 2024

Audience Insight

Game development budgets have spiralled out of control, leading game executives to cut costs and streamline their game development processes. It is no secret that generative AI (gen AI) is the tech industry’s current buzzword, but its potential is still disputed despite the hype.

The case for in-game video platforms
Closing the direct-to-consumer gap

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Karol Severin

November 2024

Product Strategy

Game publishers have long used third-party video platforms like Twitch and YouTube as a springboard to promote their games. Meanwhile, Twitch and YouTube get advertising and creator-driven revenues in return. The relationship has largely been reciprocal and beneficial for both parties.

The single-player opportunity
Course correcting from a red to blue ocean

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Rhys Elliott

September 2024

YouTube

Netflix

Xbox

The AAA PC and console games market is facing growth issues, money is more expensive, and developers are facing pressure to become leaner, more profitable, and take fewer risks. Many game makers, including those that found initial success in single player, have been chasing the live-service trend.

The ‘why’ and ‘what’ behind in-game spending

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Karol Severin

August 2024

Audience Insight

As the games industry matures and global games revenue growth slows down, in-game spending will remain one of the industry’s key growth drivers. Historically, in-game spending was mostly associated with advantage-gaining items. In 2024 however, cosmetic in-game items account for the majority of in-game spending and will be increasing their share ...

High tide raises all ships
Leveraging the cultural tidal wave of Grand Theft Auto VI

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Rhys Elliott

July 2024

Audience Insight

Grand Theft Auto VI ( GTA 6 ), due to be released in autumn 2025, is on track to be one of the biggest entertainment launches of all time. It will capture a significant amount of consumer attention. Marketers in and outside of the gaming industry have a choice –– either resist and face the increased challenge of capturing consumer attention dur...

Bigger is not always better
Premium gaming’s AA opportunity

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Rhys Elliott

July 2024

Business Strategy

Following the post-pandemic slowdown of global games revenue growth, cost-cutting measures are now in full force. However, games continue to grow in scope and length with budgets often exceeding hundreds of millions of dollars, while growth and profitability are increasingly challenging to achieve.

Gamers
A cross-entertainment summary

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Karol Severin

June 2024

Business Strategy

This report presents the key figures, behaviors, and preferences of gamers across entertainment. Graphics in this report show selected gamer segments, compared to relevant consumer segments across entertainment as appropriate. An accompanying Excel file provides country-by-country figures and data for 60+ additional gamer segments, including by gam...

Golden years, golden opportunity
Older gamers are a key growth opportunity in a challenging games market

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Rhys Elliott

May 2024

Audience Insight

Unlike in the past, gamers are now sticking with games through adulthood and into old age, leading to a growing segment of older gamers. Older gamers are a valuable segment posing a key growth opportunity for games companies in a stagnant market. Yet, most game makers do not currently cater to older gamers.

Gamers' time
Where it is and how to get it

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Karol Severin

April 2024

Business Strategy

Product Strategy

With the attention economy saturated, there is next to no incremental entertainment time up for grabs. This comes precisely at a time when more games depend on growing time spent. As games are only the fifth most consumed entertainment activity among PC and console gamers, the path for games to meaningfully grow time spent is to absorb consumers’...

Games subscription user deep dive
More is more

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Karol Severin

February 2024

Audience Insight

Games subscriptions are playing an increasingly important role in the distribution section of the games industry’s value chain. A growing number of developers, therefore, must think through whether to partner with subscription services and, if so, which ones.

Profiling gamers by platform

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Karol Severin

December 2023

Audience Insight

This report presents key metrics and consumer insights regarding mobile gamers, console gamers, and computer gamers. It is targeted to help investors, distributors, developers, and publishers understand the nuances and commonalities between these three segments.

MIDiA Research 2023-2030 global games industry forecasts
Life post-peak

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Karol Severin and Perry Gresham

October 2023

Business Strategy

This report discusses key drivers, inhibitors, and developments that will affect the games industry throughout the remainder of the decade. It offers investors, rightsholders, and distributors a glimpse into what lies ahead, accompanied by strategic recommendations and a plethora of hard to find, business-critical, modelled metrics.

How you play matters
Profiling solo, team, and couch players

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Karol Severin

September 2023

Audience Insight

This report presents MIDiA’s consumer survey data, zooming in on players of specific gamer types. Data includes age, gender, income, time spent across entertainment, money spent on and inside games, as well as games genre preferences. QUESTION ASKED: Which of the following types of gameplay do you like the most? (select up to three) ANSWER OPTION...

Tipping point
The coming consolidation of live service games

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Karol Severin and Perry Gresham

July 2023

ariana grande

Call of Duty

FIFA

The games industry has become addicted to the promise of lower risk and better ROI from live service games. As a result, there has been a flurry of live service titles released over the last 10 years. This is the key reason why the games industry’s core business model has shifted from unit-sales based to engagement based.

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Showing 1 to 20 of 112 results.